MVNU'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE

Their Best Semester Cut Short

MVNU has many different opportunities for students to study off-campus and get a hands-on learning experience. Those interested in the music industry turn to Nashville, Tennessee for an insider education in music studios and live stages.

The Contemporary Music Center is a hub for students to get a new perspective of the music industry. Senior Lilly Buckley got the opportunity to study there for her final semester. “We’re learning all the ins and outs of live performance and studio recording,” Buckley said, “from lights to Resolume to Front of House and everything in between.” Senior Coralie Christopher also took the opportunity to study at CMC for her last semester, noting that, “If you're going to study contemporary music, you need to be in a music city.”

Students at CMC get the opportunity to jump right into the music studio, learning to record in the studio, do their own mixing and getting to help artists produce their tracks for the week. They also learn ways to help themselves grow in the industry, like learning how to book their own shows. The first half of the semester, busy with weekly concerts, comes to fruition with a sizable tour in the second half, letting students play sets at different schools.

The atmosphere and extracurriculars are a whole other ballgame. “Extracurriculars at the CMC aren’t like traditional extracurriculars... they’re way cooler,” Buckley stated. “I have played so many different instruments with so many different people since coming here and it’s such a valuable experience to play with such high caliber musicians.” Christopher also comments on the city life, saying “There's always a concert somewhere!”

Unfortunately, these students did not get to enjoy Nashville to its fullest extent. Since the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, students at CMC were instructed on March 12th to travel home over the days following and that they would be finishing their semester online. Christopher shared some insight into the decision, “The culmination of a semester was a tour that we had been planning. All of our planned visits had cancelled school so we didn't even have a tour we could do.” She also infers that, “On top of that, there was a fear that if we waited to end the semester and go home, we wouldn't get to due to travel bans.” Buckley said, “Distance learning is helpful, and I appreciate all the work the staff is putting into it, but it’s just not the same not being there in Tennessee.” Thirty-eight students were sent home from CMC’s program to implement distance learning.

Caption: Seniors Coralie Christopher (left) and Lilly Buckley (right) participated in a Best Semester music program at the Contemporary Music Center in Nashville, TN. Photo by Joseph McNichols.